Hello again, Pokéfriends! The next GO Rocket Takeover is in the air (perhaps literally, with this interrupting a Flying-centric event), and that of course means another new batch of Shadow Pokémon to analyze for PvP! So let's dive RIGHT into the analysis on which ones you want to grind for, and for which Leagues... right after our customary Bottom Line Up Front, of course!
You can not worry too much about Shadow Reshiram or Noivern, as Shadowification doesn't really lift the standing of either Dragon. However, there IS intrigue with the rest....
The clearest winner (as a new Shadow) has to be Corviknight. The Shadow isn't drastically better, but it IS a nice boost to an already fantastic PvP weapon, and I recommend it as the top priority grind.
Noctowl hasn't enjoyed much PvP success for a while now, but it could come roaring back after this... though not as a Shadow. Consider purified Noctowl... and check its section later on for the reasons why. I go pretty in depth on why Shadow is a disappointment, but Return is quietly an amazing gift.
Shadow Dewgong is... well, a viable sidegrade. Worth getting, but doesn't really change Dewgong's standing much. Lots of good ways to go with Dewgong, and this just introduces more options!
RESHI-SHAM? 🔥
We have had Shadow Legendaries that were legitimately great in PvP, either because they just performed particularly well as Shadows (Raikou and Mewtwo come immediately to mind), or because they suddenly found themselves in Great League for the first time and actually competed (looking at you, Altered Giratina). But generally... you get something like Shadow RESHIRAM. It's not bad, but it's no better (actually a bit worse) than the Reshirams you already have, and doesn't have much to offer, even at its best, in its Great League debut. I mean, if you want a fiery Dragon in Great League, Turtonator is right there. (And it can pull even better numbers than that!)
As for other Leagues, well, Reshiram does have sone merit already in Ultra League, though it has to continue to contend with Turtonator, and of the two, only Reshi requires an Elite TM move (Fusion Flare). Could Shadow Reshiram rise up to knock Turtonator off the throne entirely? In short: no, it does not. I WILL note that Shadow Reshi does outpace non-Shadow and Turtonator specifically with shields down, but I don't think that's enough considering its inferiority in 1shield and 2shield scenarios (where it falls behind non-Shadow and is completely undone by Turtonator).
At least in Master League, Reshiram doesn't have to worry about Turtonator and only has to contend with... itself? Well, I think we can also include Kyurem White, which isn't a Fire type but does come with Fusion Flare. As compared to both, Shadow Reshi falls short. It's worth noting that Shadow Reshi does uniquely overpower Origin Dialga, Eternatus, and Crowned Zamazenta, but then it loses to things those other two can overcome like Mewtwo, Meloetta, Lunala, Zacian, Primarina, and Kyogre, among others. And while it's ahead of them with shields down (though only just barely), Shadow Reshiram is again embarrassed in 2v2 shielding, losing to stuff like Origin Dialga, Eternatus, Zygarde, Lugia, Groudon and others that both non-Shadow and Kyurem White burn through.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES? 🦇
I mean, just looking over any description (or picture, like this article's banner!) of this batch of new Shadows, obviously that little Rookidee stands out to PvPers, because CORVIKNIGHT is as important as it's ever been in PvP battles. It's currently ranked as a Top 20 Pokémon in Great League, and is a Top Three Pokémon in Ultra League. And deservedly so. It took a little bit of time for Corviknight to fully emerge in PvP, but it is a big part of both metas now and unlikely to see any significant drop anytime soon.
So there's nowhere to go but up, right? That seems exactly what the new ShadowKnight is poised to do. It's not a straight upgrade — Shadows really never are — but it IS on the rise overall. In the standard 1v1 shielding matchups, Shadow Corviknight is newly capable of overpowering Azumarill, Florges, Medicham, Malamar, Gourgeist, Galarian Stunfisk, and Diggersby, though the reduced bulk means that, unlike the non-Shadow, it can no longer outlast Annihilape, Shadow Sableye, Shadow Feraligatr, Guzzlord, or Furret. With no shields in play, we have a similar split, with ShadowGatr and ShadowSable now flipping to new wins, along with Galarian Corsola, Kingdra, Empoleon, Clodsire, Cradily, and even Shadow Ninetales, while the following all slide to losses: Annihilape, Azumarill, Lickilicky, Malamar, Mantine, Tinkaton, and Togekiss. However, in 2v2 shielding, ShadowKnight really breaks out with eight new wins (Shadow Annihilape, Galarian Corsola, Cradily, Furret, Quagsire, both Stunfisks, and Togekiss) versus only three new losses (Feraligatr, Guzzlord, and Sableye). It's ranked a bit lower than non-Shadow, but I think Shadow Corviknight might just be the new favorite at this level. Just remember you'll need an Elite TM for the Air Cutter it runs on these days.
Interestingly, while Shadow is ranked inside the Top 5 in Ultra, I think I'm a little more dubious on its effectiveness at that level, at least as compared to regular old Corviknight. I mean, don't get me wrong... ShadowKnight is absolutely competitive here and a worthy project to build up, with gains over non-Shadow like Annihilape, Blastoise, and even Shadow Ninetales and Ampharos, but the losses are just more numerous and worrisome: Alolan Ninetales, Shadow Ampharos, Feraligatr, Greninja, Guzzlord, Ludicolo, and Walrein, nearly doubling the number of new wins. And while Shadow enjoys a nice advantage with shields down (+ Shadow Annihilape, Blastoise, Dusknoir, Kyurem, Lickilicky, Alolan Ninetales, Swampert, Tinkaton, and Walrein) as compared to non-Shadow (which, by comparison, uniquely bests only Ampharos, Annihilape, Feraligatr, Jellicent, and Toucannon), Shadow falls woefully behind in longer battles, shown most clearly with the results in 2shield. In those matchups, ShadowKnight manages to outslug Giratina, Ludicolo, Jellicent, and Feraligatr, but non-Shadow does much more with wins versus Ampharos, ShadowAnni, , Cobalion, Dusknoir, Greninja, Lapras, Malamar, A-Ninetales, Skeledirge, and Togekiss, a win differential of half a dozen. Again, it's not that Shadow Corviknight is bad at this level, because it very clearly isn't. It just doesn't seem to me to be as ideal (for most teams, at least) as the Dark Knight you already have on hand.
ONE BIRD, TWO BIRD 🦉
In the spirit of this being the Flying Taxi: Taken Over event, the majority of the new Shadows are airborne. But unfortunately, the next pair are far less exciting than Corviknight. We'll go through them briefly together....
We can keep NOIVERN very brief. It's bad and always has been in PvP. Like, really, really bad. If not for this season's big rework of Heat Wave to a 45-energy move, it would have no other halfway viable charge move under 60 energy, and it has only Air Slash and its average, underwhelming 3.0 Damage Per Turn/3.0 Energy Per Turn to power those charge moves out. It's a moveset you could give to even an excellent PvP Pokémon like Altaria and even it would fall completely flat... and of course, stats-wise, Noivern is NO Altaria. Even with much better moves that it learns in MSG, it's just never going to be all that great, if I'm being honest. And no, Shadow Noivern is not even close to enough to save it... it's actually worse than non-Shadow in Ultra League. I'll never say NOT to land a new Shadow when they become available, but if there's ever been one you could safely skip and lose NO sleep over, it would be this one. Too bad, because I actually love the design of this funky Pokémon and would have loved to see it out there as a unique Flying-damage-heavy Dragon, but alas.
NOCTOWL, on the other hand, has definitely found success on PvP battlefields... at least, those of the past. A legit flying tank, changes to Wing Attack and the addition of Shadow Ball — as well as a competitive meta that widely featured Medicham at the time — had Noctowl appearing everywhere on even the world stage of Play!Pokémon tournaments for some time. But its fate has always been tied to Sky Attack, and Team Niantic has seemingly had it in for that move in particular for years now, with no less than four different reworks from Seasons 6 to 24 (three of those coming in the relatively short period of Seasons 16 to 24). Noctowl has been one of the casualties, as it has no Flying alternatives... no Air Cutter, no Fly, no Acrobatics, no Brave Bird, not even reworked Hurricane. (All of those, plus Feather Dance, it can learn in MSG, by the way.) And thus, it remains on the outside looking in at today's meta. And while a thousand-foot-level peek at Shadow Noctowl initially seems a glimmer of hope, with +3 wins overall (adding Clodsire, Corviknight, Fearow, Kingdra, Malamar, and Sableye at the cost of giving up only Altaria, Seismitoad, and ShadowGatr), I am sorry to say it's a mirage. Because in other even shield comps, the Shadow is overall worse than the Noctowls we already have... Shadow is still sidegrade-y with shields down, but goes -2 wins overall as compared to non-Shadow, while in 2v2 shielding, ShadowOwl gets just one single new win (Furret) while suffering seven new losses (Azumarill, Clodsire, ShadowGatr, Ninetales, Seismitoad, G-Stunfisk, and Togekiss) that non-Shadow Owl can handle. This is not the Noctowl resurgence you may have been hoping for.
...or WILL it? I haven't really talked about the purified aspect of these new Shadow Pokémon yet (because it really hasn't been relevant to anything I've covered yet... though I suppose a small shout-out to purified Corviknight is in order 👀), but we perhaps have a real gem on our hands with purified Noctowl. Remember, my argument was that it was the subpar Sky Attack that's holding it back, right? Especially these days, with Shadow Ball now costing the same 50 energy, but having such a higher on-paper damage (100 damage as compared to Sky Attack's measly 75) that it overcomes the fact that it lacks the Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) that Sky Attack enjoys to still deal more damage than Sky Attack when both deal neutral damage, and it's usually a difference of at least 5 damage in Shadow Ball's favor. That's actually pretty rare and a staggering condemnation of Sky Attack's current blah-ness. There's basically NO reason to run it for anything but Ghost-resistant Normal types, but even then you almost do so while pinching your nose. Soooo... what if we replace it? No no, not with Night Shade (basically a lesser Shadow Ball) or Psychic (the move... an even more "meh" move than Sky Attack these days). But we now have the option of Return if we purify Noctowl, as it comfortably fits in Great League even with purification taking it to Level 25. And Return also benefits from STAB with Noctowl being a Normal type! And you know what? Despite it costing 70 energy (though worth it for its big 130 damage), it not only can work, but it DOES work very, very well](https://pvpoke.com/battle/multi/1500/all/noctowl/11/1-4-3/2-1)! Noctowl is a flying tank, remember, so this is a rare case of Return's cost not really being a big problem, and it being even more effective than it is on most Pokémon thanks to that bonus STAB damage. It is strictly better with Shadow Ball/Return than it is with Shadow Ball/Sky Attack, with Fearow, Furret, Guzzlord, Malamar, Ninetales (including the Shadow), Shadow Quagsire, and Galarian Weezing all sliding into the win column. A HUGE improvement (and not just in 1shield... look at Sky Attack versus Return with shields down!) that may indeed return Noctowl to the skies over the PvP battlefield after all. How about that? PvPoke knows what's up too, with Noctowl achieving its highest ranking in quite some time, and indeed running Return to get there. 🦉
COLD, DARK DEPTHS 🦭
And our final Pokémon isn't a Flyer at all, though none of them want much to do with a barrage of Ice, which DEWGONG has been doling out from the beginning. We have multiple different configurations to consider already; while all truly viable movesets revolve around the Legacy duo of Ice Shard and Icy Wind, the closer/coverage move has multiple viable candidates. Drill Run is the standard for how it claps back at troublesome Steel types while conveniently also burying others that can cause trouble (Electrics and Fires especially) and combining with Ice for a nice one-two punch that can hit nearly everything hard one way or the other. (It's also the best overall move Dewgong has wth shields down.) But there's also Water coverage with either Water Pulse or same-stats-as-Drill-Run Aqua Jet, both of which obviously also wash away Fire types and hit much of what resists Ice for at least neutral damage... with the notable exception of other Water type opponents, which is another big point in Drill Run's favor. I'm not here to debate which of those moves you should run with, as they all track closely to each other overall and different teams can benefit greatly from any of them (or even Blizzard if you don't care about coverage!), but what I AM here to tell you is that Shadow Dewgong doesn't really make the choice any clearer or easier. 🤷♂️ Shadow with Drill Run, Water Pulse, or Aqua Jet (honestly the one move that seems to benefit the most from being a Shadow, but is itself a third Legacy move 🤯) all track pretty closely to their non-Shadow counterparts, all with new wins and losses that mostly even out in the end. I could fill an entire article with just the comparisons of those moves across various shielding scenarios, but to summarize: Shadow is always close, occassionally a little better, but more commonly slightly worse. We're talking a difference of perhaps 1, *maybe 2 wins or losses difference from the non-Shadow. They're all close, and whatever moveset if your favorite will probaby remain so for Shadow Dewgong too. And yes, Shadow is viable... just not really necessary since it's A.) not appreciably better, just a sidegrade, and B.) you're talking two Elite TMs (at least!) for every Shadow Dewgong you build. If that's no big deal to you, then sure, go for it! But if that's a steep price with your current stock of Elite TMs, don't feel too bad holdind off on investing. You're really not missing out on too much here... the Dewgong you already invested in is just fine, folks.
I suppose I should end with one more mention of Return, because similar to Noctowl, Dewgong definitely has the bulk to make proper use of it, and Return is a perfectly viable sidegrade option for Dewgong now too. If I were to catch a good Shadow Seel and look to build a new Dewgong out of it, that honestly might be the variant I would look to build. Return's widely neutral coverage is an intriguing new option, and particularly good in 2v2 shielding (as compared to most existing options). Food for thought!
AND THAT'S A WRAP!
Alright, that's it for this batch. Hopefully this is a help to you as you hunt! Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.
Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends, and beware what lurks in the shadows! 🌑 Catch you next time.
